Five youths held in hamster torture

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Five juveniles, none older than 14, have been arrested for allegedly breaking into an elementary school classroom used by preschoolers in Santa Rosa, tagging it with gang graffiti and torturing and killing a hamster.

The incident was reported Saturday evening when a woman heard the sound of breaking glass at Piner Elementary School at 2590 Piner Road, said Sonoma County sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Raasch.

The woman soon saw a group of youths running from a portable classroom. She went to the building and “found a broken window, gang graffiti and severe damage,” Raasch said. A second portable had also been burglarized.

Deputies determined that the juveniles had broken a large window, climbed in and turned over a refrigerator, used a marker to tag the walls with gang graffiti and killed the school’s pet hamster, Prince Charming.

Raasch said the hamster had been “severely tortured before it died. This thing suffered severely.” The abuse was at the hands of two 13-year-old boys, the sergeant said.

“I couldn’t believe that people, not just kids, would do that to a poor little pet,” Raasch said.

Deputy Tom McNeil felt so bad about the incident that he went to the school while off-duty on Monday with a new hamster, Raasch said. “He did it and didn’t tell anyone about it,” the sergeant said.

The vandals also tore up the school’s vegetable garden.

Deputies tracked down the five juveniles, ages 11 to 14, and arrested them on suspicion of commercial burglary, felony vandalism and animal cruelty. Three were booked at Sonoma County Juvenile Hall, and the two others were released to their parents.